Life can get pretty busy, huh? Tania and I know the feeling well. We’ve been caught up in the whirlwind of everyday life, which means we haven’t had much time to indulge in our favorite pastime: fishing. But despite the chaos, we’ve held onto the memory of a particularly special fishing trip from August 5th, 2023. It was one of those rare days when we managed to break free from our responsibilities and enjoy some time on the water with our friends. Let’s rewind the clock and revisit that day together.

Today, Tania and I were taking our good friends Darryl and Amy fishing. This was the first time Darryl and Amy came without their girls, so it was an adult fishing trip. We arrived at the docks at about 6:30 am with five dozen shrimp. Unfortunately, none of the bait boats had pilchards, so we were heading out without them. My buddy Darryl was here just a few weeks ago, and I told him not to expect the trip to be as good as the last one, as the fishing has been slow for us the past three weeks.

We were the first to arrive at the dock, and the dock hands were walking up as I started unloading the car. They pulled our boat up right away, and we were able to load up and head out pretty quickly. We decided to head to the boils with the marine forecast of 5-10kt SW winds and 2ft seas at 11 seconds.

We made it to the boils at about 7:10 am and were the only boat there. Tania is still hopeful of catching another permit, but with the low tide at 6:25 am, the odds of catching a permit were low as we usually only catch them at the top of high tide. High tide usually brings more transparent water, which increases our odds of catching a permit.

Since the boils were open, I started our drift at the southwest end. Tania and Darryl started with the 60g Nomad Buffalo slow-pitch jig, and I started with the 95 squidtrex. Our drift was northeast, and just as we hit the boils, the sonar lit up, and we started to have some action. Tania caught the first fish, a short sennet. I missed two decent bites, and Darryl hooked up with something large. After about five minutes, we saw he had a nice snook.

By the time we revived the snook, the bite had died off, so we restarted the drift. Tania wanted to change jigs on this drift as she got no bites on her favorite jig. I ended up putting on a different 60g slow-pitch jig. Once again, we started getting action when we hit the corner of the boils. Darryl caught the first fish on this drift. While he was bringing in his fish, I hooked up. As I was fighting my fish, Darryl got his fish to the boat, and it was another big snook. Amy helped him land his snook and got ready to net my fish. When I got my fish to the boat, it was another snook. In the two drifts, we landed three snooks, all over 28 inches; I was amazed.

Before we finished our drift, Tania caught a catfish. I could tell she was getting frustrated, so I put on a squidtrex for her, and we started another drift. As we repositioned, another boat showed up. The boat set up with his trolling motor right along our drift. I was frustrated, as it would mess up the good fishing we were having. Well, the other boat turned out to be very considerate as when he realized we were drifting, he turned the boat and also drifted so we could keep fishing our drift.

Our third drift turned out to be a good one. Since Darryl already had two monster snook in the boat, he let his wife Amy fish. Amy has never fished a day in her life. She usually sits in the boat and watches us. But today, she wanted to join in on the fun. She caught a small crevalle jack, and she was excited. Shortly after, she hooked up with something that had her holding onto the rod for dear life. About halfway through her fight, she was ready to give up, but Darryl and I coaxed her into keeping up the fight. When she got it to the boat, it was the largest snook of the day. Not bad for Amy as her second fish ever was a 41inch snook. Not long after that, I landed a decent size crevalle jack. At the end of our drift, the other boat that showed up pulled up next to us and asked what we were using for bait. The captain, Anthony, had just moved from up north and was learning the area. Since he was considerate of us drifting, I was happy to repay the kindness and showed him what we were using and told him how we were fishing. I love helping others catch fish.

On the fourth drift, a few more boats showed up, and one boat did set up right where we were drifting over, and this captain was not as considerate as the first boat. That was fine, though; I just drifted a little to the west of the spot. Not sure if it was, we couldn’t drift the same line, or if the bite was dying down, but on this drift, only Tania caught a fish. She finally caught a nice snook. I was so happy she finally caught a snook, as I could tell she was getting frustrated that we all were catching them except her.

We did a few more drifts, and we did not even get a bite, so I moved a bit further east to try a drift. It didn’t take long for us to start catching some snapper. On the first drift, we landed three mutton snappers, with Tania catching the largest one at 17 inches. We continued to move east towards the buoy, and the bite became sporadic.

As the tide was coming in, the water started to look nicer and nicer. At about 11:00 am Tania asked if we could drift the buoy to see if any permit were around. Our first drift past the buoy proved to be unproductive; however, in the second drift, Tania hooked up and had the fight of her life. About three minutes into the fight, Tania started to second guess herself and thought she was stuck on the bottom, but I assured her with the way the line went to the front of the boat in the direction we were drifting, there was a fish on.

About eight minutes into the fight, Tania was tired and contemplated passing her rod over, but I encouraged her to continue to fight the fish. I assured her she could do it, and the fish was getting tired. At this time the fish showed itself at the boat and it was one of the biggest permit we had ever seen. Unfortunately, once it saw the boat, it made another run. Tania started to cry at this point as she was so tired and didn’t want to lose the fish. With continued encouragement, Tania continued to fight the fish for another few minutes before we got it into the boat.

Once the fish was on the boat, Tania was shaking. She was exhausted and needed a break. I dehooked the fish and put it into the cooler. It was so large it didn’t fully fit into the cooler. What a way to end our day. On the ride back to the dock, I said a prayer, thanking the Lord for the blessed day on the water!

We ended up back at the dock at about 12:30 pm. We unloaded the boat, and then I had the privilege of cleaning another permit. I caught my first permit in 2021 and then went until 2023 before we caught another one, and this year, we have seven permits in the books.

Tania and I send our best wishes to all fellow anglers, hoping your fishing adventures are safe, blessed, and full of tight lines and good times! Until next time, keep casting and chasing those dreams on the water.

The Treasure Coast Chapter of Salt Strong now holds monthly meetings in Fort Pierce on the 4th Thursday of each month. These meetings are exclusive to inside members, who receive various perks, including 20% off tackle, access to Smart Fishing spots, and insider information on local trends. Monthly tournaments and guest speakers are also set to feature. To become an inside member, click the link below to receive a FREE pack of Slam Shady or a 10-Day Test-Drive of The Smart Fishing Spots App and The Salt Strong Insider Club. They ship you $35 worth of FREE Lures, an “Inshore Fishing Manifesto” Book (Physical copy), and decals – Yours to Keep Even If You Cancel!